It’s laborious to imagine, however the iPad Air is now over a decade previous.
That authentic mannequin launched again in November 2013, and have become the costly iPad ever on the time. It’s lengthy since been changed by the iPad Professional on the prime of Apple’s pill vary, however acts as a center floor between it and the common iPad.
The following era of the iPad Air would be the sixth, and there are many rumours concerning what to anticipate. Right here’s every thing you should learn about its potential launch date, pricing and key specs.
When will the brand new iPad Air be launched?
The iPad Air was rumoured to be introduced at Apple’s October 2023 occasion, however that by no means materialised.
In accordance with Mark Gurman, Apple has gone into manufacturing of the subsequent era of iPad Air, iPad Professional and the MacBook Air in anticipation of a late March launch. That aligns with the subsequent Apple occasion anticipated in spring 2024.
Ross Younger additionally claims in his tweet that shipments of show panels for a brand new 12.9-inch iPad Air commenced in December, suggesting a spring launch.
Ming-Chi Kuo additionally advised a brand new iPad hair was coming within the first quarter of 2024, so someday between now and the top of March.
Apple held related occasions in April 2021 and March 2022, however skipped 2023. For context, right here’s when current iterations of the iPad Air arrived:
fifth era: March 2022
4th era: September 2020
third era: March 2019
How a lot will the brand new iPad Air value?
Pricing is normally one of many final issues to be revealed a few new product, so it’s no shock that there’s no information but.
For reference, right here’s how a lot the present iPad Air vary prices:
iPad Air (64GB, Wi-Fi): £569/$599
iPad Air (256GB, Wi-Fi): £719/$749
iPad Air (64GB, Wi-Fi & Mobile): £719/$749
iPad Air (256GB, Wi-Fi & Mobile): £869/$899
It’s tough to foretell whether or not Apple will enhance the costs on the subsequent era. If the rumoured upgrades to the show transform true, it’s very potential.
However the iPad Air represents the center floor between the $449/£499 common iPad and $1,099/£1,249 iPad Professional, and that’s unlikely to alter anytime quickly.
For extra alternate options, see our information to the most effective iPads.
What specs and options will the brand new iPad Air have?
The following iPad Air most likely isn’t distant, and we have already got a tough thought of what to anticipate.
Design
The upcoming iPad Air mannequin is anticipated to characteristic minimal design adjustments, resembling carefully its predecessor.
Nonetheless, in January, code unearthed in iOS 17.4 hinted that the forthcoming iPad Professional would possibly embrace a panorama design for the Face ID digital camera.
Nonetheless, leaker Prompt Digital posted on Weibo that the transition to a panorama Face ID digital camera can also be anticipated to be featured within the iPad Air, in each its 10.9-inch and 12.9-inch sizes.
Presently, the iPad Air depends on the Contact ID constructed into the fingerprint sensor. The iPad Professional has it, however its placement on the prime makes it awkward to make use of throughout video calls, the place you’d naturally maintain it in panorama mode.
Apple has already moved the front-facing digital camera to the aspect on the Tenth-generation iPad, simply not added separate Face ID sensors.
New color choices are additionally possible on the subsequent iPad Air, although it’s not clear if it’ll match the colourful tones of the Tenth-generation iPad or the extra muted palette of the iPhone 15.
Show
The large hearsay to date issues the iPad Air’s show. In accordance with DigiTimes (by way of Forbes), the subsequent Air can be out there with a 12.9-inch show.
In November 2023, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (who has a robust fame for Apple information) acknowledged that the iPad Air line can be divided into a ten.9-inch and a brand new 12.9-inch mannequin. A later tweet from leaker Ross Younger seems to verify this data.
A 9to5Mac report is one other supply stating that Apple is contemplating introducing both a bigger model of the iPad Air or a higher-priced mannequin with improved specs. This hypothesis stems from the presence of two codenames linked to the brand new iPad Air: J507 and J508.
In accordance with sources shut 9to5Mac, the bigger iPad Air is anticipated to have dimensions of 280.6 mm x 214.9 mm x 6.0 mm, indicating that the display screen measurement may even be very related. But it surely’s unlikely that the smaller iPad Air will endure important design alterations.
That may match what we see on the bigger model of the present iPad Professional, and be a major enhance in comparison with the ten.9-inch 2022 iPad Air.
Nonetheless, it doesn’t appear like the iPad Professional’s mini-LED display screen can be making its method to the Air. Forbes says it’ll most likely stick to the LCD panels we see presently, and there’s no phrase on the next refresh fee than 60Hz.
In accordance with Ming-Chi Kuo, “the 12.9-inch iPad Air is an all-new mannequin, and whereas it lacks Mini-LED, it advantages from an Oxide backplane (the identical spec as the present miniLED iPad Execs), providing higher show efficiency than the ten.9-inch iPad Air with an a-Si backplane.”
An Omdia report additionally suggests Apple might shift to OLED shows in some unspecified time in the future, nevertheless it’s unlikely to be within the 2024 iPad Air.
Efficiency
A brand new processor is one factor we could be virtually sure about. In accordance with fashionable leaker Revegnus, it’ll use Apple’s M2 chipset:
Mark Gurman at Bloomberg additionally reviews that Apple’s intention is certainly to equip the iPad Air with an M2 chip.
That may make sense, given the M3 chips are extensively official and M1 powers the 2022 iPad Air. Apple will most likely restrict M3 to the iPad Professional, at the least for now.
Apple now provides a baseline 128GB storage on the iPhone, however iPads nonetheless begin at 64GB, except it’s a Professional mannequin.
The brand new iPad Air will most likely characteristic 128GB, although, making it a viable choice with out the necessity for a pricier 256GB mannequin. Count on pricier variations with extra storage to even be out there.
Cameras
MacRumors additionally thinks we might be getting upgrades to the entrance and rear cameras, with each {hardware} and software program enhancements potential.
Nonetheless, it’s not clear what number of adjustments there’ll really be to the present 12Mp rear and 12Mp front-facing lenses.
Whereas we watch for extra information, it’s value studying our assessment of the most recent iPad Air to see whether or not it’s value shopping for. You may additionally be curious about extra of the most effective iPads and finest tablets round.
